A large, bright ball of fire seen streaking across the sky in Bangkok and other provinces Monday morning was probably caused by a meteor, the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Narit) says.
Narit's deputy director, Saran Poshyachinda, said that judging by photos and video clips, there was a strong possibility the trail of fire was a fireball.
He explained that a fireball is another term for a very bright meteor that has entered the planet's atmosphere at very high speed and burns up.
The brightness of the fireball depends on the meteor's weight.
"It is a natural phenomenon which can be explained. It might be a meteor or a piece of an old satellite. It is quite exciting to see it, but please do not panic," he said.
Reports of the fireball came from Ngam Wong Wan Road, parts of Bangkok and even Kanchanaburi, about 100 kilometres from the capital.
The chances of a fireball causing serious damage to property or lives is slim, he said, adding that many meteors hit the Earth's atmosphere and burn up every day.
They are known as shooting stars, Mr Saran said.
An initial inspection of photos and video clips shot and filmed by people put the object at about 80-120 kilometres above the ground because people in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, which neighbours Bangkok, and Kanchanaburi witnessed it, he said.
There have been no reports of the object landing anywhere.
Perhaps, Mr Saran said, it completely burned up in the atmosphere.
Information on the website satview.org suggested the flaming object might be space debris falling back to Earth.
Space junk Flock 1B-11 object number 40459U was due to burn through the atmosphere on its way to Earth at about that time, according to the website.
A man points to where he saw a fireball and heard a thunderous noise in Ban Dong Phong in Kanchanaburi's Sai Yok district. The fireball, believed to have been caused by a meteor burning up, was seen in many provinces including Bangkok. Chanat Katanyu